Lake County NAACP starts new tutoring program at two Painesville schools

Maribeth Joeright/MJoeright@News-Herald.com

Charles Carlisle, 12, , is tutored in math by Earnestine Jones at Morse Community Center in Painesville, March 6, 2014. The Lake County NAACP just lauched a tutoring program with Heritage Middle School and Harvey High School.

Leadership at the Lake County NAACP are hoping students and parents will see the value in a new tutoring program launched recently for middle and high school students in the Painesville School District.

Although the end goal is to improve children’s grades, another objective is have the public realize that students are better equipped to succeed with parental and community support.

Al Jones, president of the Lake County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the decision to open up a new tutoring program targeting Heritage Middle and Harvey High students was unanimous after discussing grades and progress of students.

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“The Painesville City School System is not just the schools’ responsibility, it’s the community’s responsibility,” he said. “We all have to give to make it work.”

Superintendent John Shepard said the district’s partnership with the NAACP is important because it provides services and connections to the community that students don’t necessarily get within school walls.

“Any time we can strengthen that partnership with projects such as tutoring, it just makes our students more well-rounded,” he said.

Collaborations and projects with organizations, like the NAACP, and local businesses help cement students’ ties with the community and vice versa.

“It is just rewarding to see those partnerships help out kids,” Shepard said. “As we know, our parents are very busy in their lives and some of the parenting has shifted to the school districts. We can’t do it alone. We need those partnerships.”

For the past five years, the Lake County NAACP also has hosted an after-school tutoring program for Painesville students at Elm Street Elementary. Jones said what’s different about the program for Heritage and Harvey students is that it’s not at a school.

The program, for students in grades 6 through 12, will be hosted at Morse Avenue Community Center, 244 Jefferson St. in Painesville. By taking students out of a traditional classroom setting, Jones said the hope is the children will be more responsive to tutoring.

Ruthie Stark-Redman, program director for the NAACP’s new tutoring program, said there is a great need for tutors and volunteers for the program.

“Lakeland (Community College) is working to send us math tutors,” she said. “But if there are professionals in the community, engineers or math-savvy people, we welcome them as well.”

All subjects will be covered in the new tutoring program, which is hosted Tuesday through Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the community center. Students interested in registering for tutoring can pick up consent forms at Heritage Middle or Harvey High schools.

Enjoying support from the school district and city and safety officials, Jones and Stark-Redman say they think the tutoring program will be a sustainable and successful long-term program.

“We don’t start anything to fail. We don’t have time for that,” Jones said.

Stark-Redman said it is also crucial for parents to get involved with their child’s education.

“If their children aren’t passing their classes, they really need to get them here so they can get help. There’s a great need,” she said.

About the Author

Liz started working at The News-Herald in July 2012. She's covered municipalities, schools and now the night beat. She likes Doctor Who, baseball, ice hockey and cheeseburgers. Reach the author at elundblad@news-herald.com
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